SH2-136 The Ghosts of Cepheus

The Ghosts of Cepheus present a cosmic view with the chiaroscuro that the old
great painters might have applied to their canvases. Here a few bright stars
illuminate an otherwise dark and cold molecular cloud of gas and dust some
1,200 light years away. Their ghoulish and scalloped shapes are as surprising
as they are rare in other similar clouds. Note the conical outflows on the
right side of the cloud where a star is forming and blowing dust from deep
within.